Resisting Change in the 1920’s By: George Santangelo, Joey Flihan, and Stefano Paone People strongly resented and resisted change in the 1920's which proved to be a big problem because of the incredible amount of change that occured. The KKK, the Scopes Trial and the Marcus Garvey Movement were three actions that strongly showed resistance to the change that was so overwhelming in the 1920's. The KKK in the 1920’s By: George Santangelo The original Ku Klux Klan was originated in Tennessee in 1866 by Ex-Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. By 1869, the Klan had more than 550,000 members. In 1869, Congress passed a legislation which banned the use of masks and disguises for intimidation purposes. The Klan became less popular and lost members over time. In Georgia, 1915, a man named William Joseph Simmons began a second coming of the KKK which became as large as the first Klan. With as many members as the first Klan the membership numbers rose by about 100,000 people in 18 months. In 1920, a strong Klan base was formed in Texas, which was when they began recruiting Oklahomans. Many potential recruits were attracted by secret Klan ceremonies and strange rituals. The Klan grew in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Klan had over 2500 members and the Tulsa Klan had close to 2000. During the early 1920’s many Klansmen were local law enforcers, civic leaders, Protestant ministers and prominent businessmen. The “Women of the KKK” formed in Oklahoma in 1923 and had a majority of Oklahoman members. In 1923 the Klan built a $200,000 building that dominated downtown Tulsa. The Klan also played a large role in Gov. John C. Walton’s 1923 impeachment. After the 1920’s the Klan power and allegiance slowly declined due to many Anti-Klan organizations.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/K/KU001.html http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730 O'Dell, Larry. "Ku Klux Klan." Enciclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society, n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2011. http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730. "Ku Klux Klan in the Twentieth Century." History of Archaeology. University of Georgia Press, 07 007 2005. Web. 11 Mar 2011. http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730. Kallen, Stuart A. The Roaring 20's. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002. Print. Scopes “Monkey” Trial By: Stefano Paone John Thomas Scopes, a biology teacher in Tennessee was arrested for violating an act of state that prohibited the teachings of evolution in 1925. America’s most famous criminal lawyer, Clarence Darrow, offered to defend scopes for free. Leading the prosecution was A. T. Stewart, the District Attorney and the former presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. Bryan believed the literal interpretation of the bible and went against the fact that evolution should not be taught. The World Christian Fundamental Association asked Bryan to become a part of this trial now known as “The Monkey Trial.” The trial began on July 11th 1925 in Drayton. This trial became the first trial in history to be broadcasted. Three schoolboys testified that they had been their when Scopes had taught evolution in their school. When the judge, John T. Ralston, refused to allow scientists to testify on the truth of evolution, Clarence Darrow called William Jennings Bryan to the witness stand. This became a major part of the 11 day trial and many independent observers believed that Darrow successfully saw the flaws in Bryan's arguments during the cross-examination. However, Bryan was considered to be the nation’s leading speaker and was expected to be flawless during his summing up of the prosecution's case. In order to avoid this happening, Darrow decided to go against making a final summation, thereby taking this opportunity away from Bryan. As the trial went on John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
"An Introduction to the John Scopes (Monkey) Trial." UMKC School of Law. Web. 10 Mar. 2011. <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm>. "Scopes Trial." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAscopes.htm>. American Decades. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2003. 171. Print. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAscopes.htm. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm. The Marcus Garvey Trial By: Joey Flihan World War I was a horrible and treacherous war. Many people were killed, innocent lives were lost, and territory was destroyed. But the war did suddenly create many job opportunities for many of the people in the North East. Wanting to get in on the massive opportunities that awaited them, many African Americans from the South all headed north. Between 1920 and 1930, the black population of New York doubled from 150,000 to 300,000. This sparked a lot of negative feelings toward African Americans in the North East because suddenly many blacks were competing with the unemployed white community for jobs. A man named Marcus Garvey, a man born in Jamaica who moved to America saw the horrible way that people were together and decided that separatism was the best way to go. He started UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Association; an association that worked for separatism. Marcus Garvey had a firm belief that races should be separate and that all blacks should move back to Africa and start a new nation of power. This was the idea behind the Back to Africa Movement. UNIA survived for a while becoming slightly successful in America. They set up restaurants, set up headquarters, and even had their own boat service called “Black Star Line.” Around the twenties, UNIA began to fall due to the horrible economy. Suddenly, blacks could not get jobs because of the economy, making them unable to spend money on “Black Star Line,” and also restaurants. Also, Marcus Garvey was beginning to lose his credibility as there were scandals that involved him making deals with the Ku Klux Klan (a hate group against blacks) to lynch all the blacks who didn’t leave for Africa. The last straw was when Marcus Garvey was sent to prison for mail fraud for five years, causing UNIA, and the Back to Africa Movement, to fall apart.
By: George Santangelo, Joey Flihan, and Stefano Paone
People strongly resented and resisted change in the 1920's which proved to be a big problem because of the incredible amount of change that occured. The KKK, the Scopes Trial and the Marcus Garvey Movement were three actions that strongly showed resistance to the change that was so overwhelming in the 1920's.
The KKK in the 1920’s
By: George Santangelo
The original Ku Klux Klan was originated in Tennessee in 1866 by Ex-Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. By 1869, the Klan had more than 550,000 members. In 1869, Congress passed a legislation which banned the use of masks and disguises for intimidation purposes. The Klan became less popular and lost members over time. In Georgia, 1915, a man named William Joseph Simmons began a second coming of the KKK which became as large as the first Klan. With as many members as the first Klan the membership numbers rose by about 100,000 people in 18 months.
In 1920, a strong Klan base was formed in Texas, which was when they began recruiting Oklahomans. Many potential recruits were attracted by secret Klan ceremonies and strange rituals. The Klan grew in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Klan had over 2500 members and the Tulsa Klan had close to 2000. During the early 1920’s many Klansmen were local law enforcers, civic leaders, Protestant ministers and prominent businessmen. The “Women of the KKK” formed in Oklahoma in 1923 and had a majority of Oklahoman members. In 1923 the Klan built a $200,000 building that dominated downtown Tulsa. The Klan also played a large role in Gov. John C. Walton’s 1923 impeachment. After the 1920’s the Klan power and allegiance slowly declined due to many Anti-Klan organizations.
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/K/KU001.html
http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730
O'Dell, Larry. "Ku Klux Klan." Enciclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society, n.d. Web. 11 Mar 2011. http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730.
"Ku Klux Klan in the Twentieth Century." History of Archaeology. University of Georgia Press, 07 007 2005. Web. 11 Mar 2011. http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2730.
Kallen, Stuart A. The Roaring 20's. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002. Print.
Scopes “Monkey” Trial
By: Stefano Paone
John Thomas Scopes, a biology teacher in Tennessee was arrested for violating an act of state that prohibited the teachings of evolution in 1925. America’s most famous criminal lawyer, Clarence Darrow, offered to defend scopes for free. Leading the prosecution was A. T. Stewart, the District Attorney and the former presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. Bryan believed the literal interpretation of the bible and went against the fact that evolution should not be taught. The World Christian Fundamental Association asked Bryan to become a part of this trial now known as “The Monkey Trial.”
The trial began on July 11th 1925 in Drayton. This trial became the first trial in history to be broadcasted. Three schoolboys testified that they had been their when Scopes had taught evolution in their school. When the judge, John T. Ralston, refused to allow scientists to testify on the truth of evolution, Clarence Darrow called William Jennings Bryan to the witness stand. This became a major part of the 11 day trial and many independent observers believed that Darrow successfully saw the flaws in Bryan's arguments during the cross-examination. However, Bryan was considered to be the nation’s leading speaker and was expected to be flawless during his summing up of the prosecution's case. In order to avoid this happening, Darrow decided to go against making a final summation, thereby taking this opportunity away from Bryan. As the trial went on John Scopes was found guilty and fined $100.
"An Introduction to the John Scopes (Monkey) Trial." UMKC School of Law. Web. 10 Mar. 2011.
<http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm>.
"Scopes Trial." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAscopes.htm>.
American Decades. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2003. 171. Print.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAscopes.htm.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scopes/evolut.htm.
The Marcus Garvey Trial
By: Joey Flihan
World War I was a horrible and treacherous war. Many people were killed, innocent lives were lost, and territory was destroyed. But the war did suddenly create many job opportunities for many of the people in the North East. Wanting to get in on the massive opportunities that awaited them, many African Americans from the South all headed north. Between 1920 and 1930, the black population of New York doubled from 150,000 to 300,000. This sparked a lot of negative feelings toward African Americans in the North East because suddenly many blacks were competing with the unemployed white community for jobs. A man named Marcus Garvey, a man born in Jamaica who moved to America saw the horrible way that people were together and decided that separatism was the best way to go. He started UNIA, the Universal Negro Improvement Association; an association that worked for separatism. Marcus Garvey had a firm belief that races should be separate and that all blacks should move back to Africa and start a new nation of power. This was the idea behind the Back to Africa Movement.
UNIA survived for a while becoming slightly successful in America. They set up restaurants, set up headquarters, and even had their own boat service called “Black Star Line.” Around the twenties, UNIA began to fall due to the horrible economy. Suddenly, blacks could not get jobs because of the economy, making them unable to spend money on “Black Star Line,” and also restaurants. Also, Marcus Garvey was beginning to lose his credibility as there were scandals that involved him making deals with the Ku Klux Klan (a hate group against blacks) to lynch all the blacks who didn’t leave for Africa. The last straw was when Marcus Garvey was sent to prison for mail fraud for five years, causing UNIA, and the Back to Africa Movement, to fall apart.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAunia.htm
http://www.marcusgarvey.com/
McDonnell, Janet. America in the 20th Century. 2. Taryytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2003. 311-313. Print.
"Universal Negro Improvement Association." Encyclopedia of American History. Revised. 3rd. Web. <http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE52&NewItemID=True>.